As per statistical records, about 30 years ago car mechanics ran a major feature on how to get the most miles from a gallon of petrol, horrified by the prospect that it was costing the same as a pint of beer!
It has been observed that usually it costs about £50 to fill up a car like the Mondeo, yet the disappointing fact is that the majority of us are wasting as much as a £1 on every gallon every time we drive our cars whether it be an out of tune engine, bad driving or sheer laziness. Fuel expenses are now reported to be the biggest single expenditure in a household, costing up to £70 a week, most of it as indirect taxation, so let’s start clawing some of it back, right away!
More often than not, you may think your car is in sound order, but the odds are mostly against you. The advent of longer servicing intervals is causing an increasing number to slip out of tune and simply pour good petrol away.
In fact as a matter of fact, it’s not possible to emphasize on the savings, that the regular tune-ups provide you with. Faulty plugs, with leads on their last legs and clogged cleaners are the main culprits for lost gallons with a modern fuel injected engine, in most of the cases.
As oil changes become less frequent, then less attention is paid to the breather systems and as they sludge up, it causes engines to run richer as a consequence. For saving more fuel, remove the pipes to thoroughly clean them and replace the breather filter, if fitted.
As most of the modern fuel injection systems are usually extremely robust, they stay in tune for long periods. There’s little that you can do, other than ensuring that the cold start system works properly, plus see that all the connections are free from corrosion and there are no leaks throughout the fuel line.
You must take good care of the smaller stuffs, especially in the injectors. Periodical use of pour in solvents can really enhance their performance and help in saving fuel greatly
It’s a myth that air filters can last for years. The stated long service intervals often found in handbooks only relate to “normal driving conditions” of which there’s no such thing!
The fuel saving devices have largely been viewed as gimmicks ever since they came into existence. Most of the times, primarily their job is to clean up emissions by helping the combustion process, but there is a notable economy spin-off. Moreover they are not particularly cheap so you need to cover a lot of miles to break even, but it could also be a real boon to improve flagging emissions.
Finally your driving, remember the basic rule that the faster you drive, the more fuel you’ll burn up. Possibly just a little thought to reading the road ahead using the maxim ‘haste makes waste’ will get you there just as quickly, but with less stress and in a better condition of your fuel tank.
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